Elastic-plastic behavior of a semicircular frame being pressed against a rigid plane

As a simplified structural model, a semicircular frame is used to study the crashworthiness behavior of an aircraft fuselage. The quasi-static large elastic-plastic deformation of a semicircular frame in the process of its being pressed against a rigid ground is analyzed. First, based on the linear elastic assumption, the quasi-static large deformation contact process of the frame can be divided into three phases, i.e., point contact, line contact and post-buckling. By means of a shooting method, the relations between the displacement and contact force as well as the distribution of bending moment in the three phases are obtained. Then, by assuming an elastic, perfectly-plastic moment-curvature relationship for the semi-circular frame, the contact process is analyzed in detail to reveal the plastic collapse mechanism, the traveling of plastic hinge and the force-displacement relationship. In order to verify the analysis, a preliminary experiment was conducted, in which two types of half rings with clamped ends were pressed by a rigid plate. In addition, a numerical simulation is also conducted by employing ABAQUS to analyze both rectangular cross-sectional beam and I-beam. Finally, the theoretical predictions are compared with the experimental results and numerical solutions, showing that the elastic-plastic analysis can predict the contact process very well.

A new model for the expansion tube considering the stress coupling:Theory,experiments and simulations

Based on the two-arc profile assumption,the expansion deformation and energy absorption of circular tubes compressed by conical-cylindrical dies were reconsidered.First,the deformation of the two arcs was analyzed independently and an improved model denoted as Model-I was established.Then,by further involving the coupling between the bending moment and membrane forces,a more elaborate model,i.e.,Model-II was developed.Afterwards,experiments and simulations were conducted to verify the models,which show that,compared with previous theoretical models,Model-II could not only capture the prominent features of the deformation,but also improve the prediction accuracy of the steady driving force significantly.By means of this model,it was found that the critical semi-conical angle,which makes the driving force minimum,increases with the increase of the friction coefficient,expansion ratio as well as the radius/thickness ratio of the tube.And,the energy dissipation due to stretching is always greater than that of bending,while the friction dissipation can account for the largest proportion at small semi-conical angle or large friction coefficient.At a certain friction and die conditions,the specific energy absorption of expanded tubes can be much higher than that under progressive collapse mode.